It reminded me of an evening many years ago, when I was attending the NAB show and was invited to see the fabulous Susan Anton and the Rockettes with Martin Noar. 

We went to the show, hoping to sell them an in-ear monitoring rig.  They had other plans, which involved us giving them one for free.  Before we understood what was up, we were put into the seats set aside for “royalty” right dead front, dead center.  We were then subject to a full court press designed to wow us.  The only thing that I really remember was a version of “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing”, which was pretty much a self evident truth.

Much of the this year’s CES show for me was related to the mobile telecom industry becoming more involved in media and entertainment. Lots of excitement around this space, new revenue streams, etc.  All I can say was that this truck brought me back some memories of what I’ve been missing.

I confess that I like to start up conversations with strangers. This is especially true if you happen to be stuck next to me on airplanes, trains, or what have you.  On my flight out to the CES show, I sat next to two very different kinds of people, and we were stuck on the runway for a long time.

I sat next to a professional photographer that has a really nice business doing pet and family photos.  More interesting to me, he is a Canon representative and really knows his stuff when it comes to technology for photography.  Photography is one of my passions, and he is an expert.  He was going to be part of the Canon exhibit at CES.

I also sat next to Angie Simmons, a senior management executive from Liberty Media Interactive. As it turned out, in the new Fortune magazine, which I was reading on the plane, one of the analysts in their investor’s guide recommended buying them because are breaking out their interactive media into its own business unit.  I think that makes sense both financially and operationally.  

I often get envious reading about Silicon Valley and its ecosystem.  There are all of these vibrant interconnected new media companies springing up out there with what seems to be unlimited energy and potential.  I often forget that the Mid-Atlantic region as a flourishing interactive media community established as well. 

For more on MusicID:
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I have been on both the manufacturing and buying side of the electronics industry. New product innovation has always been my passion.  I have been involved in some really innovative new products, such as voice mail, computer music, digital recorders, and in-ear monitoring that have really had a major impact on how things are done.  I have also been involved in some dogs.  About half of my "can’t fail" ideas seem to find a way.

From a manufacturer’s perspective, it is surprisingly easy to create Frankenstein’s line extension.  You start with an existing product, then add features for some other hot trend in the market that customers are buying.  That seems obvious doesn’t it?  Take something that people want, add a new feature that they want, and you have a solid product that people want more than they did before. 

Here was the first such innovation that caught my eye at the show.  I believe it is called the Soundmaster Vulcano Lamp Digital Music System.  It has an alarm clock and is iPod compatible.   I do not know whether it was a music system, lava lamp, or alarm clock first, but to my knowledge it is the first to put them all into a single device.  If that wasn’t good enough, now you can plug your iPod in.

I am genuinely on the fence about the SamsungW7900 cellphone projector.  It’s a cellphone and it’s a projector.  The device is a bit bigger than an iPhone, but has a 10 lumen projector inside.  Every time that I go schlepping into a presentation with my laptop and projector, I wish that something like this existed.  On the other hand, I normally only use a projector when I have six or more people and I have lots of information that we need to review.  The presentations tend to get big, especially if you have lots of graphics let alone video.  My concern is that the lamp is not bright enough and that relying on the cellular bandwidth for large presentations would be problematic. 

That having been said, as I start to think about different uses, I  imagine using the cellular connection to allow someone to stream video remotely to the projector.  That could work in a semi-permanent installation or could be used to insert advertising in different places.  It would eliminate the need to install a monitor and data connection. 

The Blue Curtain College Fund Foundation raises money to help young people that are interested in sound technology get structured training and put on a college degree path.  The money that is raised is used to help pay for education and guidance counseling.

Please help!  We are looking for 100 people to donate $20 each before year end.

Chrys Lindop is one of the finest audio engineers that I have ever worked with. He is one of the very few that have the combination of excellent technical, creative, and people skills. Chrys has worked with The Pretenders, David Byrne, Stevie Wonder, Ry Cooder, and way too many other acts to mention. He remains an in-demand engineer for the serious artists that recognize that the sound system is part of the performance and requires as much creative talent as every other aspect of the show.

I was intrigued to hear that he had become involved with a project in Glasgow that is working with the disabled community to put on performances.

I had the opportunity to have dinner in NYC with Chrys and Gordon Dougall, who is the creative director at Sounds of Progress. They were in New York as they are looking to expand its borders and bring the program to the United States. It’s a bit hard to capture the flavor of it all in a post, but I’ll do my best.

Sounds of Progress is a charity that trains and assists disabled people to develop musical abilities to a professional standard. They teach and bring world class production values and standards to their productions. As it turns out, for example being in a wheelchair isn’t really much of a hardship to someone that needs to sit behind a mixing console. Nor is being blind an insurmountable obstacle for a talented singer.

Sounds of Progress is an inclusive program that challenges everyone involved to produce great work. It is hard to discuss these communities without slipping into some euphemisms that really do everyone a disservice. Sounds of Progress takes talented people who are blind, autistic, physically and mentally handicapped and works with them to make great art. Unlike many well intentioned local performances where people are given roles beyond their reach, the SOP productions strike the right balance of challenging people to overcome their personal barriers while keeping the entire production focused on the quality of the performance.

The results have spoken for themselves. The quality of the productions has brought audiences, sponsors, and industry professionals and the local community all together wanting to be part of the project. They have moved into a larger facility in Glasgow with additional production facilities, and have launched multiple performing bands, as well as, the theatrical productions.

At the core of it all is a commitment to that very precious little piece of something that reminds us that we are all connected. It is the virtue that challenges each of us to hold ourselves to a higher standard, which is at its heart, and act of kindness.

They are looking for a US performance company to work with to begin work on new projects. If you are interested in learning more about the project, send me a note.